Diana Farfan

Diana Farfan was born in Bogotá, Colombia. She received a BFA in Ceramics and Printmaking at Universidad Nacional de Colombia in Bogotá, Colombia in 1999; and in 2010 she obtained a MFA in Ceramics and Sculpture at University of South Carolina, Columbia, USA. She also studied at the University of Anchorage, Alaska, and at the Tainan National University of the Arts in Taiwan as an exchange student. She currently lives, works, and teaches in Greenville, South Carolina. Besides developing her own studio practice Diana is an art coach for Hispano-Latino Artists. She serves as member of the board of directors of Palmetto Luna Arts, a non-profit that promotes Hispano artists and Latin Culture in South Carolina.

Farfan’s figurative sculpture is known for its whimsical and thought-provoking dolls, puppets, and toys. With this repertoire of popular child icons, she creates dramatic-poetic narratives drawing on social and political issues, seeped in a non-judgemental humor. Her toy-like sculptures become social satire and political criticism while remaining, at first glance, a naive and innocent theater for the naive viewer.Diana Farfan’s most recent works form a series called “Bread and Circus.” The artist explains that this “term was created by the Roman satirist and poet Decimus Junius Juvenalis (100 A.D.), who once said that what people really wanted was panem et circenses. That is, as long as people were fed and entertained, they would be kept distracted and diverted from participating in the activities of government, and they would be less of a problem for their leaders. These pieces are part of a larger installation, which was inspired by Juvenalis’ statement, which I think illustrates my assimilation into American culture.”